Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky Omnibus, Vol. 2

Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky #7-10

by Chip Zdarsky

The epic climax of beloved writer Chip Zdarsky’s saga of Daredevil and Elektra!

The Angel of Death has come to Hell's Kitchen. As a series of grisly murders tests Elektra's mettle — and her commitment to her new role as Daredevil — the city spirals into a state of panic. Because this killer can be in more than one place at a time! Meanwhile, Matt Murdock faces challenges behind bars — and New York mayor Wilson Fisk brings his full criminal and political power to bear on the super heroes who call NYC home! But in the wake of the Kingpin’s ultimate power play, it's a new era for New York — and both the Man and Woman Without Fear! Their dark path will put them on a collision course with the rest of the Marvel Universe — and Matt’s journey will have an unbelievable destination!

COLLECTING: Daredevil (2019) 31-36, Daredevil: Woman Without Fear (2022) 1-3, Devil's Reign (2021) 1-6, Devil's Reign Omega (2022) 1, Daredevil (2022) 1-14

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Superheroes, Adventure, Action

776 pages, Hardcover

First published August 16, 2023

About the author

Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a tremendous fan of the second half of Zdarsky's run. I love Elektra as Daredevil but Devil's Reign and all the stuff with the Hand wasn't really my cup of tea. The art was still good and I still like Zdarksy's writing, though. The ending makes me want to read Saladin Ahmed's run so I can see how it all shakes out.

[Liva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has its ups and downs, but there is one main takeaway: Chip Zdarsky can fucking write, his writing is spectacular. The last couple issues of Daredevil 2022 are art (and yes, I cried)

[Joakim Ax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having avoiding spoilers for what actually made Electra take over the Daredevil persona I was happily surprised. I thought that it was gonna be simple that Matt was killed and she dawned the persona and legacy. But that card has been played so so so many times, right?!

Allthough I might have wanted a little more backbone to the character (Aka) which led up to the finally of the run. I could not have anticipated how this run was gonna end. The whole 14 issue run from 2022 felt like a long running DD-event more so than the actual event (Devils Reign) That´s also colelcted in this book, which was a very surprising point of view event, cause we see it mosty through the lens of the Villain (Wilson Fisk).

Overall I loved the Chip Zdarskys DD run and I am happy to return once I start a new Daredevil reading-marathon.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Thezachespinoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

not me tearing up at the ending

[Aaron Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was truly excellent. Chip Zdarsky is one of the best comic book writers out there and his daredevil is no exception to this!

The character writing, dialogue and development are all top notch, leaving not a single moment when I wanted to put it down. I loved every second of it!

Highly reccommend.

[Scotts Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic continuation from volume 1! One thing I always enjoy in long runs like this is constant character development and I was really satisfied. From Cole North, to Elektra, to the main man himself, so many characters came out totally different from when they went in.

The Devils Reign & Red Fist Saga arcs were the standout stories for me! I was gripped, engaged, and outright enjoying what was going on. I love the juxtaposition between how grounded Matt's abilities are and some of the highly supernatural aspects of the situations he finds himself in.

I do think, however, that I may be quite naive as this is my first real big experience reading Daredevil apart from the odd story here and there. But I can only like what I like.

The art within the main issues were great and the combat was easy to follow. I wasn't too keen on the art in some of the small end-of-issue stories or in the Devil's Reign Omega issue either.

Which brings me to the mapping of the book. There was only one small downfall in my opinion where they should have mixed Devil's Reign and Woman Without Fear as it is clear that WWF takes place within DR. Placing WWF afterwards jarred the immersion and pace for me.

Overall this was an amazing book to get into and I'm sad to see it end, but I would say that this has definitely enticed me to carry on reading DD from this point.

[Gerry Sacco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. I guess it's fault is, it was never going to live up to volume 1, because volume one was perfect. This was very close though. If I could give it a 4 1/2 I would. Story started to falter at the end a bit, but what a finish.

Zdarsky is one hell of a writer, and Checchetto is one hell of an artist. They need to be on another project together, a fantastic team, similar to Waid and Mora, Claremont and Lee, they just flow together so well.

This entire collection is a must own.

[DayDay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the best character development you’re ever gonna see on this character and on an EPIC scope. Love his love for faith too. Not as strong as the first half, but still a fun ride.

[Christian Oliverio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to just throw review all of Zdarsky's run here, since the Omnibuses break out the story right down the middle of the "runtime" as opposed to the easy divide between the two story arcs.

The first Arc "To Heaven Through Hell" was easily a 5/5. The only complaints I have are the sudden appearance of Elektra and the King in Black tie-in interrupting the story. The first is just build up to the second arc, and the other is simply the cosmic orders of a shared universe. Sometimes aliens attack New York and the streets have to deal with it, although this is the first one that has affected Daredevil, so if you are just reading his solo material, it can be a bit jarring. Additionally, the arc ends with the crossover event "Devil's Reign." I'm discovering these events aren't nearly as good as the main story. It was a great ending, but a lot of the random side-action felt shoehorned in. Luckily, the further the event went, the more focused the character work got.

Now, everything else about this arc was phenomenal. Both Matt and Fisk are challenged, uniting against a common enemy before clashing for the last (for now) time. All the character work over the last twenty years comes to head as both the hero and antagonist have oddly satisfying endings. Plus the initial issues were easily the best Daredevil I have ever read. It felt very in line with the Netflix series (complete with improvised costumes and Matt getting his butt beat against normal dudes). I love all the steps that happened in the explosive first few issues that lead to Matt hanging up the mask and retiring, as well as what it took for him to take up being Daredevil again in perhaps the most climactic mid-story battle. Fisk also has some great character development. Foggy remains a great supporting character, plus we get Detective Cole North, who feels like a GCPD officer (if you have read Gotham Central or No Man's Land, you know how high of a praise that is). I also loved how Matt's faith is finally explored with him wrestling with doubt and faith. In short, this is what happens when an adaptation outshines the source material, then the source material rises to meet it.

As for the second arc, "The Red Fist Saga" was actually a good Hand story (and please hopefully the last one). Oddly enough, it didn't have the Hand in it too much, probably due to them doing stuff in the Punisher. Which leads to my first complaint... this felt like a Punisher Daredevil crossover that just didn't make sense. I don't know who thought Punisher becoming a magic ninja assassin was a good idea, but this passed through too many hands for the blame to solely be placed on them. Additionally, the action wasn't that spectacular, especially when Daredevil and Punisher finally do fight. And a lot of the story seemed focused on Matt going directly against superhero tropes for the sake of political commentary. I did like a lot of the story beats, especially Matt's confrontation with U.S. Agent, but a lot of the cool moments were rushed to a halt and the thrills of the action felt very abridged (think the comic version of shaky cam/quick cuts). I don't know how the run was able to take such a dive in quality, but it felt very abrupt.

In short, we get some of the best Daredevil stories we have ever gotten with some amazing consequences to his character and the Marvel universe as a whole... but the Hand once again comes in to ruin things, this time stretching beyond Daredevil's book. To Heaven Through Hell was phenomenal, The Red Fisk Saga was only great. As weird as it sounds, the jump from 5 to 4 stars felt jarring. Still, I loved the ending and think if someone wanted to stop reading Daredevil, this was a VERY satisfying conclusion to his character.

[Juan José · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more than I did.
First of all - Marco Checchetto's art is truly excelent; sadly, many issues are done by other artists which I didn't like so much. Also, some of Checchetto's issues were clearly rushed, to the point that he starts copy/pasting some panels.
On to the story - the run has some amazing moments. I was particularly touched by DD's realization from inside prison that "the system" doesn't work, when he realizes that an inmate died because Matt Murdock put him in jail. These points of character development really feel natural for DD, since Frank Miller's and Brian Michael Bendis's takes on the comic.
HOWEVER, these events are matched with what I feel like terrible story beats and pacing.
Devil's Reign is resolved by beating big baddie.
Elektra kills the POTUS, is incarcerated and then freed. No dilemma, no consequences.
We are told Frank Castle now leads The Hand for some reason (cool); this I can understand. Then Castle and DD battle it out, and Frank leaves The Hand, for another reason we don't get to see. Daredevil's Fist battles The Hand in an all-out battle (all of them being ninjas, which doesn't make much sense); the main battle happens off-camera. The outcome is merely told to us by the characters ("we lost," though we don't know why); DD's team defeats a dragon and that's that.
The Stromwyns are untouchable, until the plot decides they aren't; characters can decide when to beat them as they please.
Goldie's story is engaging and feels planned - but lacks any sort of closure, explanation or feeling of fulfillment. I don't need to know the truth abput him, but at least give me something; the whole comic feels this way, like it's building up to something, and then delivers the lamest end imaginable.
Finally, DD goes to Hell. For some reason, he gets powers there and can manifests swords. Which he can use to kill archdemons (just like that; no price paid), and get souls to walk out of Hell as people.
It feels disjointed - one issue DD decides to completely believe in a Book they just found, the next he has a castle and an army. We meet a new leader of the Hand, with zero development after the big fight. The whole plot is a literal deus ex (or deus vult?), moved forward by blind belief in a book of which we have no prior knowledge nor reason to believe in.
The worst thing? Nothing in the whole book has consequence.

Again - I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Giving it 3 stars for the art and some great scenes, but it really feels more like a 2/5; Daredevil: Shadowland Omnibus all over again.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a roller coaster. It's hard to even begin to describe everything the story goes through but it is a wild ride, pushing Daredevil in new directions, challenging the status quo and making use of classic characters.

The initial arc of Daredevil in prison and Electra filling in was fantastic. The two characters have such a complicated history, so for "Electra" to be put into Matt's shoes, to fight with his "limitations" was really interesting. This arc also made great use of the Daredevil in prison concept, and the return of iconic villian Bullseye. We also get some great action with Kingpin and Typhoid Mary back together again, talk about a power couple!

While the Devil's Reign event was written by Zdarksy, it was a bit of a let down. For some reason Otto Octavius becomes a key character? And it feels like the run gets briefly derailed, even though it should have been a crowning moment. It did have some great moments though, like Luke running for Mayor, and Mr Fantastic and the Invisible Woman in prison together. (Note I really like how Zdarsky writes Mr Fantastic, he appears a few times throughout the book as a friend of Matts and he's always sincere and sweet).

Happening at the same time (but collected afterwards) is Daredevil: Woman Without Fear, a mini-series focusing on Electra. I have to say I really enjoy Electra as a superhero. She's had a dark past, rarely on the right side of the past, but she isn't a lost cause. She reckons with her past and is making amends. (Also I love all her scenes with Matt, a really satisfying relationship that acknowledges their complicated history).

The next arc was the final one and it was wild "The Red Fist" sees the two Daredevils break villians out of prison to rehabilitate them and to form their own army, all so they can oppose the Hand, who are now lead by none other than the Punisher!

Now this arc was fantastic. It offered some amazing character moments between Electra and Daredevil, the return of the loveable asshole Stick, and Ninja action across the globe. Now I wasn't reading Punisher at the time (by Jason Aaron) so I will say I was a little disappointed by how he was handled here. Given the long-time turbulent relationship between Matt and Frank, I expected more from thematic moments or parallels as they lead the opposing groups. Maybe if I read Jason Aaron's Punisher it would have felt more satisfying. I did enjoy that this part of the story spent time criticising a criminal justice system that focuses on incarceration rather than rehabilitation (which wad especially poignant given Daredevil's recent stay in prison).

All of this leads to a climatic ending with a cameo from Blindspot (introduced in the prison run by Charles Soule) and a literal journey to hell, where Daredevil can fight devils. Is it a little over the top for a hero who is usually street level? Yes. Is it cool? Yes. Is it a satisfying conclusion? Hell yes.

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s the end of an era for Daredevil as Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto end their run that started back in 2019. Zdarsky and Checchetto (and assorted friends)’s Daredevil has always been a book about Matt attempting new things and failing in new and beautiful ways, and this volume is the natural conclusion to that thesis. During that time Matt Murdock has been put through the ringer that most recently included fighting literal demons in Hell. I love how quickly this book gets going, it doesn’t take it’s time reintroducing you to every character it just keeps the momentum going from the previous Daredevil run and into Devil’s Reign. That being said it does feel a bit rushed at times and I would have definitely benefitted from either a higher page count or more issues in general. This first volume of Zdarsky’s second run is once again plagued by artist changes, but at least here they are pretty consistent. It would have been nice to have Checchetto be the artist full time on this series, but we do live in the modern age. A lot of this second Zdarsky run (The Red Fist Saga) feels rushed and condensed and during my first read through I thought it was just an unfortunate coincidence, but now that I’m revisiting these issues it feels like Zdarsky was only green-lit for 14 issues and had to cram as much in as fast as he could. If you look at the first run Zdarsky did on Daredevil, he really takes his time to return Matt to his Daredevil identity, so by that logic he would also probably take his time in telling this very grand epic story about destroying the hand, one of Daredevil's most iconic villains. Just really unfortunate that this series got rushed in order to hit some deadline. Maybe I’m wrong, but it really does feel like Zdarsky still had a lot of story to tell and themes to explore, but I guess we’ll never know. Still a solid volume none the less and this Daredevil run is a series that belongs beside some of the best modern comics of recent years.

[StephY · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like it, man.

There are moments when I'm ready to go "hell yeah" (especially in those last 4 issues), but overall the first 10 issues of the Red Fist Saga were just not that interesting to me. I think I'm just unimpressed by the Hand and the Fist and all of that. It brings a bit too much mysticism to a character that frankly doesn't really need it. Yes, Matthew's doubts on his faith and everything he believes opens the door for charlatans like Aka and Stick to manipulate him, but the fact that at the end we go "oh, so everything is real" and try to play with concepts of gods and demons, of angels and devils, and rob Matt of the chance to decide what to do with himself just seems odd. The final moments seem to argue that the cycle can't be broken, but that to me seems more like a jab at editorial, a wink to the fact that we'll be back with Matt wearing the suit sooner or later.

I like how much this run deconstructs Matt and the Daredevil persona, the penitentiary and judicial systems, as well as the superhero ecosystem; but damn it the Stromwyns just didn't do anything for me as antagonists, no matter how much they represent the corruption of our society. And maybe if I read more Punisher I would get why he suddenly became the leader of the Hand but like, I JUST DONT CARE. The commentary that Zdarsky tries to bring either gets too muddled or sticks out too much, there's no in-between. Characters spell nearly everything to the reader and by the end it's just a bit tiresome.

I've seen people call this the best Daredevil run of all time, but it seems like I'll not be one of them.

Foggy and Cole MVPs, btw.

[Shelby Fielding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto's run stands out a lot for its willingness to engage with the anchors that Daredevil provides as a character. It chooses to allow for this one-shot stills of a mob boss losing his temper in a mayor's suit, and the fear that arrests his face becomes the spotlight. The grief and guilt of a vigilante who's mistakes sprouted new weeds for him to pick from the crevices of Hell's kitchen. It's a story of two men confronting the ceilings that keeps them from achieving their desires, whether internal or external. The grand narrative wanes a bit in the middle as it muddles through, but around those brief interludes are these impressively intimate moments that capture the humanity of one of Marvel comics' most human characters. It climbs those epic rungs and explodes from the page with pulpy splash pages and cool ideas, but amidst all the comic book fanfare that we all expect is a beating heart. That is what carries comics past their superlative theatrics, a willingness to have a moment in the story where an imposing man stands terrified, soaked in blood. Not of anyone else, or something else, but himself. It's such a fantastic run.

[Dean Franklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful art and interesting plotting, but just a real let down after the build up of the first volume. Devil’s Reign is decent, albeit a bit disjointed without the accompanying tie-ins, but it provides a satisfying conclusion to the saga of the first omnibus. Post-Devil’s Reign with the Fist stuff was honestly a slog to get through. Little of what made the first volume so engaging carries over into Zdarsky’s next arc. After the intimate self-reflection of accountability Matt undergoes in the first volume, he suddenly takes it upon himself to unilaterally wage a tonally inconsistent, self-righteous war with the Hand. Elements from former half of the run are ham fisted into the narrative to project a thematic connection, like the Stromwyns working with the Hand and Cole North joining the Fist for some reason, but ultimately it feels cheap and falls flat. Conclusion was decent, our heroes end in some intriguing places, but the journey to get there was uneven.

[Kyle13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first. Don’t get me wrong this half of the run isn’t bad in no shape or form but the concepts just don’t hit for me. Devils reign seemed promising at first with Fisk doing what Fisk does best and seeing heroes become the criminals and hiding from villains was cool until all the mind control stuff came in, felt like zdarsky was excited to write devils reign and then he was like oh crap I don’t know to finish it (also finished too quickly for me). Then we get onto the red fist saga, I can appreciate zdarsky’s ambitions on taking Matt outside of Hell’s Kitchen but god is the hand is boring (not chip’s fault primarily tbh) they are just dwindled down to a group of ninjas associated with the after life. Also seemed like chip was just desperate to send Matt to hell for some reason, could’ve been better if they just focused on frank as the leader of the hand.
Artwork is peak tho so bonus points.

[Ellzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will never understand anyone who prefers the first half of the run to this. Once the Red Fist Saga gets going it feels like it's an attempt to both deconstruct and transcend everything DD has been, and I could not stop reading. It's definitely a lot more fantastical and grand in scope than anything done with the character before, but I think that ambition pays off beautifully. There's so much emotional conflict and theological angst behind every step of Matt's journey here that by the time it ended, I found myself wishing that there didn't have to be a continuation; That this wasn't in a medium that demanded constant reiteration and rejection of satisfying conclusions, so that the characters could linger in where this ending leaves them. It's messy and not perfect by any means, but I loved it.

[Tapley Cronier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good gravy. I finally did it. I finally read this entire comic run and finished it. And my goodness, this is probably the definitive Daredevil story. Hats off to Chip Zdarsky for taking the comic format and creating a coherent story that gives character development to its main cast, carries themes over so many comic issues. There’s so much that I could say about this character, and what started as a love from the TV show I first watched has now evolved into just a love of the character in general. “I keep focusing on the wrong things. God is love. The thing that drives me is love. Let Love guide you, Matthew Murdock.” This moment is the perfect crescendo to every single moment that he has faced. A beautiful ending to a masterpiece. Absolutely brilliant.

6/5 stars.

[Gabriel Calderón · Rating 5 out of 5]

King Daredevil con barba tiene demasiado aura.

Amé cada comic, el arte de Marco Checchetto es increíble y me inspira a querer ser un artista y poder dibujar estos icónos de personajes que captura tan increíblemente.

La trama e historia de Chip Zdarsky es top tier, fácilmente se ha vuelto de mis autores de cómics favoritos y desde ya tengo guardados para leer próximamente varios de sus trabajos (spiderman y Batman).

Voy a darme un chance para leer más variación de personajes y tomar un descanso de daredevil pero apenas esté listo ya tengo guardado la saga 2023 para continuar y ponerme al día.

También Elektra y su arco como daredevil fue súper cool y su dinámica con Matt es un highlight.

[Jota Houses · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hago un repaso de la etapa completa. Bien dibujada y buscando distanciarse de la anterior, sale por peteneras y nos monta un ares épico en el que todo lo que ha vivido hasta ahora Matt ha sido orquestado por dos demonios que se enfrentan mediante los ninjas de La Mano y los supuestamente buenos del Puño. Un galimatías de fantasía sin pies ni cabeza que saca a Daredevil de New York y lo trasplanta a la frontera ruso japonesa. Mientras tanto, como he abandonado su papel de protector de Hell's Kitchen, le hace la sustitución Electra con un casco de cherrecintos. se deja Leer pero es una desbarrada en la que mueren y resucitan varias veces todos los implicados y yo creo que ahora si me bajo.

[TheMadReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firstly, the art was really nice with this volume but that’s about it. The end of this DD run was very mid. I wasn’t a fan of how Chip wrote Kingpin. I don’t think he truly understands the nature of the character. Kingpin would NEVER allow his son to spit in his face, let alone skate into the sunset with a love interest. That’s just not who the character is. Go read Punisher Max by Aaron to truly grasp the villains psyche.

Devils Reign in terms of the actual event was a huge let down and very uneventful and the Red Saga with the whole ordeal of taking down The Hand was….eh. Not impressed with this run.

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chip Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil is a fantastic deconstruction of both the character and the superhero genre.

It raises a lot of questions and takes Matt to interesting places, acting almost as a perfect conclusion to the modern era of Daredevil’s stories. The run does take a more supernatural turn towards the end which has proven controversial, but I thought it worked quite well.

My only complaint is that one of the characters introduced towards the end doesn’t really have a conclusion, and it made me wonder what the point of them was overall.

Otherwise it’s a strong recommendation for fans of the character, though I would suggest reading his other runs beforehand.

[Julián "Mystletain" Rodríguez]

Zdarski y compañía se han marcado un tebeazo como pocos.

Los últimos numeros me han tenido al borde de las lagrimas y me gusta lo absurdamente comiquera que es la excusa que ha dejado para que otro autor pueda coger al personaje sin invalidar el final, cosa que me molestó con el cambio entre la era Waid a la de Soule.

No es que haya leido demasiadas etapas del demoño pero creo que muchos personajes y elementos van a perdurar en la mitología del personaje

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a thrilling conclusion!! Always fun seeing a street-level hero have their go at a mystical journey. Very interesting read in the last few issues discussing a good amount about God and religion (I get that it’s Daredevil but still), and I think it was a strong way to bring Matt back to what he bases his sense of justice around. Overall I’d have this closer to a 4.5/5 but giving it the full 5 bc of “that” full page spread during the war arc ;)

[Micah Glus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how far this goes from street-level. The push back into the fight with The Hand is so cool to watch. The constant wrestling with whether or not he’s doing what he’s supposed to do is so interesting. And Elektra shines in this volume. I can’t recommend this run enough. So much great stuff in here.

[George Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again most interesting in how it navigates being a flagship Marvel title and also a contained work of art in its own right. The highlight for me is how far it pushes the Avengers towards being a gang of fascist thugs, and of course Daredevil has many cool lines and a very fun new costume.

[Loki · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Daredevil runs of recent years comes to a close.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a run! We love Mr. Chip!

[Siraniti Netinant · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best comic book I've ever read.